Mariotts/Paramount/California's Great America July 1977
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- Опубліковано 21 вер 2024
- Super 8 film footage (no sound) of Great America in July 1977 featuring Turn Of The Century, The Whizzer, and lots of other things no longer in the park or as they were then. There's also some neat footage of driving down to the park from Sacramento on the 680...what is that freeway under construction that is shown? Cool shot.
This park used to be so well maintained when Marriott's still owned it.
its owned by cedar fair now
I think cedar fair does a really good job with maintenance, very clean, barely any lines and for a good price too
@@eleanorjanemoore2223 I went today on a Wednesday and the lines were PACKED! it was insane :( 2 hour wait for every roller coaster.
@@Kayyleeeeee Man, must be COVID every time I went before this is was no more then 45minutes for even the most popular rides, I’m going this weekend, hopefully it’ll be a little better
@@eleanorjanemoore2223 yeah I went yesterday and I only go to go on the demon if was 2 hour wait. That was the only roller coaster I had time to do, every other ride was insanely long to wait in. They really prioritize the fast lane people over everything that’s what messes everything up.
By far the best part of the video was the drive. Kudos to the camera person who dutifully recorded freeways as a time capsule to the journey. The empty roads, the 101 interchange under construction, taking the 680 to 280 and getting off on 10th, which is 5 minutes away and a drive I do all the time... Thanks for the upload!
I am about 1/4 mile from the interchange, i go by the 10th 11th exit all the time. I was born in 1980 but feel like i belong in the 70's.
You are right about the drive; It's cool to see I-80 back in 77, and It brings back so many memories of how undeveloped Fairfield and Vallejo was.
I went to Cali in 76 when I was 10, first time outside of New England. My grandparents took me to Great America and did not take a single photo! This is the first time I have seen the park as it was back then. Brought a bit of a tear to my eye. Thank you so very much.
For people you is exactly why I posted it, great to hear!
So cool to see the cars driving before the Grizzly was built over the top. And before the Turn of the Century turned into the Demon.
That freeway under construction is the 280-680-101 interchange. It was stuck in construction like that until the early 80s.
I live about 1/4 mile from there.
Remember when someone parked a car up there?
@@jefferystillwell2121 And the interchange is named after him Joe Colla.
I just happened to be driving north on 101 the very minute they removed the barriers and allowed traffic to take the interchange to 280S/680N, and was the first person to do so! This was 1980 or 1981, I can't remember which.
Thank you soooo much for sharing this!!! I grabbed at least 20 awesome screenshots of the park that I literally grew up in.(Take a glance on google earth now, it’s unrecognizable). And the three piece freeway to nowhere? My goodness we drove past it dozens of times a year and I had not thought of that image in 40 years
Great video, the land outside the park is vacant compared to today. The trees were so small.
It was much nicer then. Not now, all crappy and built over with sprawl.
Thanks for the memories. I worked there from 1976 until 1981. Got to work at Great America in Gurnee Illinois the last week of the 1976 season. Great times. Was also in the Night Time Comes Alive at Great America commercial .
Thank you for this, it was great to relive some old memories. The current CGA is only half the park that it was in the 80s and 90s. There used to be so many shows at this park that you could get a hotel room and stay 2 days and still have trouble seeing everything. The saloon show, IMAX theatre, ice show, dance show, dolphin/bird show, and atmosphere entertainment, plus they had a lot more rides back then, and people would travel here from all over the country to book hotel rooms for multiple day stays. You cannot imagine the current CGA being like that. It really is sad when you compare what this park used to be with what it is now. I appreciate the old footage, I had many good times there with people that are no longer around, and this helped me relive some of that :)
I was in the 2nd grade that year on a classroom field trip, my first time there. It was an eye opener!
This 8mm film is a treasure. I watched the 680/280/101 interchange being built from my bedroom window in Evergreen, right at the top of San Felipe Rd, for years. I so miss the old Marriot's.
I remember going to Marriott's in the 70's, starting in '77. The air time on those hills (before they were converted to loops) were insane! Fond memories.
This was my childhood theme park. I’m also going there this Saturday.
Awesome time capsule! So much has changed!!!
Great to see this footage! I was there every year from the opening in '76 until I was on my own. By mid eighties I was an adult and off on my adventure outside of NorCal.
Omg
All this rides literally look soooo fun I wonder why they took them out? The one that was a big wheel spinning looked cool
I think it’s still here today it’s called “Orbit” if I remember correctly
OMG! I REMEMBER ALL THAT WHEN I WENT. THE 1ST TIME I THINK WAS 1979. I WAS A FRESHMAN IN HS AND WON A STUFFED STRIPED LEOPARD. IT WAS SO BIG IT HAD TO GO IN THE STORAGE BIN AT BOTTOM OF THE BUS! OHHHH THE MEMORIES!!
Wow, thank you for uploading this! I was born and raised in San Jose and it's so cool to see how things looked like a long time ago
WOW!!! Does this bring back memories! I remember first going around 1978 and was FREAKED because Whizzer didn't have any seat belts at the time. I seem to remember Looney Tunes characters providing the entertainment. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for sharing!!!! Childhood memories.....❤❤❤❤
Great video! Worked there in 76 and 77.
This was when Great America in California was at it’s best. After Marriott sold it, it went downhill, especially in the Paramount days when they just trashed it. Today, it’s barely recognizable if at all from what it once was. A shame.
Paramount was certainly the worst, but I don't think it's bad under Cedar Fair. They've been way ahead of Six Flags in everything non-thrill, and even in the thrill department added RailBlazer recently which is just absolutely amazing.
Brings back a lot of memories. I loved The Turn of the Century rollercoaster!
This is awesome, thank you so much for sharing this video. The freeway shots and all that are great, these are what home movies were like back then, I remember that.
Demon rollercoaster has been there for THAT long... omg
It was called Turn of the Century for the first few years
Nearly identical to the one in Gurnee. So many great memories going there as a kid.
They are actually twin parks, both originally under Mariott
There's this new film out... It's called Star Wars... All the swell kids are watching it
This is great footage, the park isn't even recognizable. I'm putting together a video about all the coasters at GA, do you mind if I use a couple shots from this video? I'll link back to it and give on-screen credit.
For some reason I was expecting a guest appearance from the Griswalds.
Oh this park used to be so charming!!! The shows were fantastic and professional. I can’t stand the shows now
I was 12 when it opened and it was wonderful. Lots to do and a fair price. The last time I went was in 2001 with my kids under Paramount control. They had a good time being in the Nickleodeon show, but I could see that it cost almost $200 for the 5 of us to get in with a Coke can promotion. Then the extra attractions cost $20 a head to play. It doesn't surprise me that it is closing.
It's actually a really nice park right now, you should visit again before it does close. It's not CHEAP, but it's pretty fair compared to like Disney or Universal. It's certainly a nicer cleaner park than most Six Flags parks. The roller coasters there have some charm and character in addition to being fun, I'll miss that.
Wow, so much has changed!! That's a +2 hour drive from Sac. I was shocked to see the 101/680 interchange under construction, too! Nice video of the pre-Demon Turn Of The Century & The Whizzer. My first visit was in 84 and I only rode the Whizzer once as it was torn down the following year.
Wizzer was still up in 86. That was its final year.
@@NyeGuy-yv2dv nope its final year of operation was 1988 it was sbno in 1989 until it was dismantled mid-season
Great video, thanks for sharing it.
Two of the best roller coaster rides I've been on was at Marriotts Great America in San Jose California.
The year was 1977..I was 17 at the time.
The roller coaster rides were called the Turn Of The Century and the Tidal Wave.
Turn Of The Century is shown in the video, and is still at the park, though it is now called Demon. Tidal Wave was unfortunately removed, and in fact that last remaining coaster of it's type was just removed from Knott's Berry Farm this year.
@@bryanwalker1998 from what I understand, they are not removing Montezuma's Revenge, they are renovating it along with the rest of Fiesta Land
@Desiree Stamat Technically that's what they are calling it, but they have removed the entire coaster already. It seems like they're going to build another coaster of roughly the same layout in the same location and keep the name, but physically it's a new coaster.
I miss the triple tree, the train and yankee clipper!
I was always terrified of the triple wheel, loved clipper and the train and the edge. I remember flipping out when i saw the triple wheel in Beverly Hills Cop 3.
No sound... but I hear everything! :)
That's awesome footage. 👍🏻
Did anyone else get the feeling this ride was haunted when it was The Turn of the Century? No one had died or been injured on it and I don’t mean haunted as paranormal or spirits of the dead. I just mean that spooky feeling some of us get at times for whatever reason. Probably just me.
Man thanks for the video. All the way from 80 highway 12 to Napa lol I forgot what that used to look like. This must have been before the tidal wave was introduced?
The absolute lack of traffic on 80 and 680...those were the good old days. Grew up in Palo Alto.
Trust me, the bay area is a shithole now.
Thank you for a wonderful film, everyone I know will agree, the Paramount years were the best. I should know I always had a season pass. I did not realize how long it takes for trees and bushes to grow, it's funny to see a naked Demon. I have uploaded a video called memories of Great America, I like yours better thanks again. Also working with video and film cameras, it looks to me like this was 8 mm film, instead of a video camera, if I'm not correct please tell me which format you used to shoot this film.
It opened in '76. We went that summer for the first time. I was 5 and so scared of going on the Lobster
Great video!!!! The Turn of the Century!!!!!
Didn't someone get killed on the Turn of the Century way back then? That's why they took it down. I was only about 5 years old when this video was taken and this is about the time my family went to Great America for the first time. What great memories! Thank you for sharing this.
I dont know if someone got killed or not, but that coaster is still at Great America to this day, it's just called The Demon now. They painted it and added a couple vertical loops, but it's otherwise the same coaster.
@@singemfrc Oh ok. I've rode the Demon many times. I didn't realize it was the same coaster. I was really young during that time so my memory is fuzzy. Thank you for letting me know. 🤗
No someone got killed on the Whizzer back in 1980
I was there opening day as a kid. Now it’s being closed for good. Sad.
Cedar Fair needs to be sued...BIG time
2:50 The Whizzer. First coaster I ever rode.
Mine too! Man time flies!
Yup
Me too too bad it had to get removed😢
This looks to be the opening season 1976 actually only reason why I say absent is the tidal wave which did not open until the following year in 1977
My parents are the ones who went and took the video, and it said July 1977 on the film, but it's possible they could have waited a year to develop and marked it wrong or something. Do you know what month Tidal Wave opened? Maybe this was in 77 before it went up.
@bryanwalker1998 it went up pretty quick I want to say it was already up before March of 1977
I just checked it opened July of 1977
Turn of the century. First deaths at the park
No that happened on The whizzer
All I gotta say is WOW
Oh man seeing that 280 overpass
Thanks for posting this. It a little before my time, so it's pretty neat to see it as it originally was.
So did those cars go through The Demons corkscrew?
The cars didn't pass under the TOTC/Demon loops; that was the train that circled the park. It was always a treat when you got to pass under the loops as a coaster train passed.
The Grand Opening of Jimmy's Great America (May 20, 2001)
They say in the title it's California's Great America words not it's in Gurnee
Why did an Americana themed amusement park have a Yukon Territory section with a Klondike Cafe and a Saskatchewan Scrambler? Ay?
Lol. Good question. They should have called that coaster the Cal-gary Stampeder, ay? Or the Roughrider maybe. Ay?
Damn San Jose changed
Where were the dolphins at? I have an old flag of Marriott G.A. that have dolphins but never knew exactly where they were located at.
they were in Yukon Territory, there is a kiddy coaster there now
1:10 that ride looks sooooo weird
Was that corkscrew ride the Turn of the Century? Looks like they kept the corkscrews and added some loops and called it the Demon
That is exactly correct!
The original Turn of the Century was an amazing coaster. The first drop wasn’t all that big, but those two bunny hills gave tremendous airtime. When loops became all the rage they converted it into The Demon. I still think the original design was better. I remember the first time I rode it in October of 1977. It was my first big coaster and I was terrified of those corkscrews. Turns out they were nothing; the first drop and bunny hills were where the real action was at.
@@StrangensteinDo you remember why you were terrified of those corkscrews? I ask because I was so terrified of them I wouldn’t go on it the first time I was there. Finally did a couple years later when it was the Demon and like you say they were nothing. My point is the more I think about it the more it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense why I would be as terrified as I was of those corkscrews.
@@Ghostshadows306 I think I was scared because going upside down on a coaster was a new thing at that time. As I was riding it that first time I was so “concerned” about those corkscrews that the first drop and those bunny hills really caught me off guard. Those bunny hills gave tremendous airtime! I do recall after the ride was over being excited to go ride it again. I’d conquered my fears. My mom and dad had a saying: “Today was the tomorrow you worried about yesterday”. They were so right.
Hey up you don’t mind if I use this on a video of cgas history right I will credit you and Everything
R.I.P. Turn of the Century Roller Coaster EST. 1976-1979 at Marriott's Great America in Santa Clara, California USA 🇺🇸 is now Demon EST. 1980-Now at Marriott's Great America / Great America / Paramount's Great America / California's Great America in Santa Clara, California USA 🇺🇸.
They will change the name soon because it has America in it. It's offending from what I'm hearing from people that live in America now.
Great America. Soon people will complain about changing the name since it has America in it.
I was one month old
what is the opening freeway shot?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Colla_Interchange
.
Ride at 1:55?
The big triple ferris wheel? It was called Triple Play I believe.
@@singemfrc thanks!
That was 'Sky Whirl'.
amusementparkives.com/amusement-ride-manufacturers/waagner-biro-double-and-triple-tree-wheels/
It was called triple wheel in the 80s. I don’t thing it had a name change. It was also featured in the Beverly Hills Cop 3 movie filmed at the park.
It was kinda boring to ride, I thought. Cool looking though.